hand, she was of course elated to be back here, too, elated that they had conquered the McClouds, elated to see that Kendrick and the others were safe. She took pride in seeing the McCloud corpses littered all over the place, and she was thrilled to see that her brother Godfrey had managed to survive, sitting off to the side nursing a wound, head in hand.
Yet at the same time, Gwendolyn could not quell her deep sense of foreboding, her certainty that some other terrible calamity was coming for them all, and that the best thing for her people to do was to evacuate before it was too late.
But her people were swept up in victory. They would hear no reason as she was ushered, with thousands of others, into the sprawling city she knew so well. As they entered, Gwen was relieved to see that, at least, the McClouds had been killed quickly, before they’d had a chance to do any real damage to all of her careful rebuilding.
“Gwendolyn!”
Gwendolyn turned to see Kendrick dismount, rush forward, and embrace her. She hugged him back, his armor hard and cold, as she handed Guwayne to Illepra beside her.
“My brother,” she said, looking up at him, his eyes shining with victory. “I am proud of you. You’ve done more than hold our city – you have vanquished our attackers. You and your Silver. You embody our code of honor. Father would be proud.”
Kendrick grinned as he bowed his head.
“I am grateful for your words, sister. I was not about to allow your city, our city, father’s city, be destroyed by those heathens. I was not alone; you should know that our brother Godfrey put up the first resistance. He and a small handful of others, and even the Legion – they all helped hold back the attackers.”
Gwen turned to see Godfrey walking over at them, a beleaguered smile on his face, holding one hand to the side of his head, caked with dried blood.
“You became a man today, my brother,” she said to him in earnest, draping a hand on his shoulder. “Father would be proud.”
Godfrey smiled back sheepishly.
“I just wanted to warn you,” he said.
She smiled.
“You did far more than that.”
Alongside him came Elden, O’Connor, Conven, and dozens of Legion members.
“My lady,” Elden said. “Our men fought valiantly here today. Yet I’m sad to say, we have lost many.”
Gwen looked past him and saw the dead bodies all over King’s Court. Thousands of McClouds – yet also dozens of Legion recruits. Even a handful of Silver were dead. It brought back painful memories of the last time her city was invaded. It was hard for Gwen to look.
She turned and saw a dozen McClouds, captives, still alive, heads down, hands behind their backs.
“And who are these?” she asked.
“The McCloud generals,” Kendrick replied. “We’ve kept them alive. They are all that remains of their army. What do you command we do with them?”
Gwendolyn looked them over slowly, staring them in the eye as she did. Each one stared back at her, proud, defiant. Their faces were crude, typical McClouds, never showing remorse.
Gwen sighed. There had been a time when she had thought that peace was the answer to everything, that if only she could be kind enough and gracious enough to her neighbors, could show enough goodwill, then they’d be kind to her and her people.
But the longer she ruled, the more she saw that others only interpreted overtures of peace as a sign of weakness, as something to be taken advantage of. All her efforts at peace had culminated in this: a surprise attack. And on Pilgrimage Day no less, the holiest day of the year.
Gwendolyn felt herself hardening inside. She did not have the same naïveté, the same faith in man, that she once did. More and more, she had faith in only one thing: a reign of steel.
As Kendrick and the others all looked to her, Gwendolyn raised her voice:
“Kill them all,” she said.
Their eyes widened in surprise, and respect. They clearly had not expected this from their queen who had always strived for peace.
“Did I hear correctly, my lady?” Kendrick asked, shock in his voice.
Gwendolyn nodded.
“You did,” she replied. “When you’re done, collect their corpses, and expel them from our gates.”
Gwendolyn turned and walked away, through the courtyard of King’s Court, and as she did, she heard behind her the screams of the McClouds. Despite herself, she flinched.
Gwen walked through a city filled with corpses and yet filled with cheering and music and dancing, thousands of people swarming back to their homes, refilling the city as if nothing bad had ever happened. As she watched them, her heart filled with dread.
“The city is ours again,” Kendrick said, coming up beside her.
Gwendolyn shook her head.
“Just for a short while.”
He looked at her in surprise.
“What do you mean?”
She stopped and faced him.
“I’ve seen the prophecies,” she said. “The ancient scripts. I’ve spoken with Argon. I’ve dreamt a dream. An attack is coming our way. It was a mistake to return here. We must all evacuate at once.”
Kendrick looked at her, his face ashen, and Gwen sighed as she surveyed her people.
“But my people will not listen.”
Kendrick shook his head.
“What if you’re mistaken?” he said. “What if you are looking too deeply into prophecies? We have the finest fighting army in the world. Nothing can reach our gates. The McClouds are dead, and we have no other enemies left in the Ring. The Shield is up and holds strong. And we also have Ralibar, wherever he is. You have nothing to fear. We have nothing to fear.”
Gwendolyn shook her head.
“That is precisely the moment when you have the most to fear,” she replied.
Kendrick sighed.
“My lady, this was just a freak attack,” he said. “They surprised us on Pilgrimage Day. We shall never leave King’s Court unguarded again. This city is a fortress. It has held for thousands of years. There is no one left to topple us.”
“You are wrong,” she said.
“Well, even if I am, you see that the people won’t leave. My sister,” Kendrick said, his voice softening, imploring, “I love you. But I speak as your commander. As the commander of the Silver. If you try to force your people to evacuate, to do what they do not want to do, you will have a revolt on your hands. They do not see whatever danger that you do. And to be honest, I do not even see it myself.”
Gwendolyn looked at her people, and she knew that Kendrick was right. They would not listen to her. Even her own brother did not believe her.
And
